Oprah Announces The Oprah Winfrey Television Network

Hi Granny Sue,

I'm a media contrarian by nature and slightly skeptical of whatever I see or read. But when I see something that has proven to be a positive influence, I feel good about having some faith in it.

I think sometimes we're so suspicious because we see so many negative influences, when we see someone actually influencing people in a good way, we're like, they can't be for real. I think Oprah is for real. Not perfect, mind you, but for real.

You hit it right on the head when you said the following:

It isn't Oprah herself that disturbs me--it is the fact, as Denise says, that millions of people, mostly women, mindlessly adopt her ideas and recommendations without applying any personal critical thinking to the process. I am interested in her opinion as one of many others I might hear, and then I form my own position.

Too many women also mindlessly adopt the ideas in Cosmo, Seventeen, People Magazine and a whole bunch of other media outlets. And for me those are much more destructive than Oprah has ever been.

I don't have a problem with Oprah being on the cover of her magazine because that's marketing and that's part of what sells the magazine. But inside the magazine are the voices of a diverse group of women and men. Old, young, black and white. Her ads often feature older women, black women, women who don't necessarily look model-like. The articles don't suggest quick fixes for life's problems but encourage looking inward for answers. I think all of those things are good things.

More women definitely need to think. More women definitely need to question. And more women definitely need to have confidence in their own ideas of what's right and wrong for them. About Oprah or anything else.

And I really appreciate your adding your comments and your point of view to the discussion.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube

Personal Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com )

I respect what Oprah's accomplished. What she has overcome and how she has used her resources for good is admirable.

I began to feel uneasy when I noticed that her magazine featured her on the cover every month, all glitzed up and air-brushed. It smacked of megalomania to me. I'll admit upfront that I am not a crowd-follower, and I have a huge distaste for all types of celebrity worship. She is lovely, but to put yourself on your mag cover month after month? Am I the only one who thought that was weird? I can't think of any other publication that does this.

It isn't Oprah herself that disturbs me--it is the fact, as Denise says, that millions of people, mostly women, mindlessly adopt her ideas and recommendations without applying any personal critical thinking to the process. I am interested in her opinion as one of many others I might hear, and then I form my own position.

In my state, we have a very wealthy coal executive who has tried to influence state politics and laws by spending huge amounts of money, funding advertising and thinly-veiled groups who purport to be for a good cause (like children) to shroud the fact that what they are really doing is promoting the interests of big coal.

Oprah's goals are more high-minded than this coal exec, and I understand that she gives a strong voice and a visible face to the concerns of the black community that is much needed. Still, when one person can influence the thinking of so many because that person can afford to buy the resources to do it--well, I will keep my distance, and watch them from a place of distrust.

Granny Sue
Stories from the Mountains and Beyond
www.grannysu.blogspot.com ( http://www.grannysu.blogspot.com )
susannaholstein@yahoo.com

Yeah, you're right, Dr. Phil is turning out to be a low point. However, Oprah's positives far out weigh her negatives as far as I'm concerned.

When Oprah first began her show and was doing a lot of couple and relationship issues, she would have black couples up on the stage talking about their issues and how they were or were not resolving them. She made it "normal" for black couples to admit to problems and to seek out help for them. It wasn't seen anymore like airing dirty laundry in front of white people. That for me was a huge thing and helped a lot of black families.

Since then, she's been even much more of a change for good in a media world that can be so destructive.

One of my missions when I started my personal blog ( http://www.megansminute.com ) last year was to have discussions just like this one we're having now. To remind as many people as possible to watch the media with a critical eye. That's one reason I try to plug shows like "Reliable Sources" ( http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/reliable.sources/ ) that airs on CNN every Sunday, because it's one of the few places where media is dissected with a critical eye.

The more people like you and I speak up on places like BlogHer, and especially to women, the more we can, in our own small ways help create better media consumers.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube

Personal Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com )

And that's the problem - if all Americans were smarter consumers and smarter THINKERS, I probably wouldn't have a problem with Oprah (or Murdoch) because there wouldn't be millions of American sheep blindly buying and believing anything they say.

But, in America, we don't seem to function that way. I hear women all day long saying "I heard it on Oprah"... and let's face it, not everything Oprah has done or backed has been right or healthy. She brought us Dr Phil, after all... ;-)

Years ago, before Oprah mania hit so hard, I liked her. Now she just makes me nervous and as soon as I hear someone say "I saw it on Oprah"... I shut down. I know what Oprah thinks and believes, I don't want to hear every other woman in the world telling me she believes this "because she heard it on Oprah...".

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net )

Oprah has been such a force of good, I have no problem with the power she accumulates.

The comparison to Rupert Murdoch's empire is correct, except I see Oprah as actually helping to balance out the Rupert Murdoch influence.

I'm one of those people who believes the public should view the media and coverage of any topic as they would any consumer product. Who's making the product, is it of good quality, do I really need it, and is the price right?

When it comes to media, more of us need to read an article and then check the byline and the bio of the person who wrote it. That's what I do. If I read a story about the mortgage crisis, I want to know if the person who wrote it works for a mortgage financier. If I watch CNN do a story about Time Warner, I know the slant might be less negative because Time Warner owns CNN.

I think Oprah's "products" should be consumed in the same way. Her TV shows, her book recommedations, etc. I take from it what I want, what works for me, and I discard the rest. Because I happen to like her and almost everything she stands for I'll accept quite a lot from her.

My problem with say Fox News Channel and Rupert's empire is that they purport to be unbiased when they obviously aren't. If they just came out and said, "We're shills for the Republican party and proud of it," I'd have a lot more respect for them. I still wouldn't watch them, but I'd have a lot more respect for them.

For me, Oprah never pretends to be something she's not. Good, bad or indifferent. That for me, is the difference. But still, it's up to us as viewers and readers not to just accept what we read or see from anyone, including Oprah, as gospel truth.

We need to be better media consumers.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube

Personal Blog: Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com )

This woman is moving another step closer to ruling the world and it makes me uncomfortable. It isn't Oprah the person making me uncomfortable. Or Oprah the woman. Or Oprah the black woman. I'm simply uncomfortable with anyone whose power and influence seems to go unquestioned by the masses.

She's like Rupert Murdoch except we all love her and we hate him.

I am awed by her achievements, but at the same time ... I won't watch her network, just like I won't vote her candidate and I won't read books she recommends.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net )